To further expound on the similarities, I would say that Sky Pilot is very close to a Typhoon Senior with a smaller deck house, and maybe a hair lower rig. Anyhow, she's all Alberg, surprisingly, with the unmistakable lines of his creations. Sea Sprites were one design racing boats, with many hundreds built and still an active following on the East Coast (but regrettably not here in the Pacific Northwest). They are well behaved, very powerful to weather and surprisingly fast, even in company with much bigger boats. In other words, a boat that easily out-sails this amateur crew, but, heck, we still have a good time.
Last year Sky Pilot replaced our previous cruising boat, a Nimble 20, in a successful attempt to update the actual sailing experience! In return we ended up with slightly less room below and forfeited the extreme shallow draft advantage. Both were rather easy to adjust to, as Sky Pilot is 10 times more fun to handle in a blow.
This year's cruise started and ended in Anacortes, WA and included the Strait of Georgia, Desolation Sound and passages further NW. We were on the boat for 50 days, anchoring almost every night, cooking all meals aboard and cycled less than 5 gls of fuel thru the 6HP outboard. While the trip were sparse on luxury and conveniences it was the way we like to travel.
Our sail inventory for this cruise was just the big genoa and a brand new fully battened main with two deep reefs. Sky Pilot (and most of her crew) likes to reef early, say 12-14 kn to weather. That said, we fairly often plowed along with the lee rail awash and spray engulfing the winch, events that mostly took place to please the younger crew members!
Bjorn, 12 this year, after half a dozen seasons as a cruising mate is now a fully dependable member of the crew.
A cool morning with the wind on the forward quarter. Bjorn holding down the dog in the gusts.
Gibraltar Hill on Jedediah Island, with the Strait of Georgia to the south. Vancouver Island can just be made out on the hazy horizon.
Typical coastal British Columbia anchorage: tight, well protected and scenic. Stern ties are always needed to take advantage of these cozy coves.
Sonja doing galley duty while an attentive snout senses the open sardine cans.
We actually enjoy moving our 4000 lb boat at a modest one knot under paddles. Take note of the tell tales: truly no wind!
Madrone at Turn Point.
The starboard quarter berth with Bjorn firmly inserted.
The Sea Sprite looks as small as she is from this angle.
We did lots of hiking at every opportunity, although the dense rainforest and lack of any developments on the upper coast made for the occasional bushwhack.
Early morning out milking the strong tidal currents and feeble winds so characteristic of this coast.
